Wood Quality?

[LostGarn]

I'm on winter #3 with a GARN 1500 boiler.
My wood is a mix of Ash, Pine, Douglas Fir, Poplar, and burning 3 year old wood. I split everything under 5" and try to keep the thickest part of the splits under 5". I stack my wood under a carport to dry / storage.
2 years ago I picked up a few tons of mixed hardwood slabs that are 1 to 2.5" thick.

After doing a bunch reading I have found my moisture meter is a PIA. What brand model number should I buy?
What mix of hard wood slabs to soft wood would use for the colder times of the year?
Tri axle loads of mixed soft wood are cheap where I live, is it worth dealing with hard woods with the extra cost and the extra drying time?

 

[stoveliker]

I have a general tools mmd4e. I like it. Though pins are.sometimes hard to get into oak.

Which wood for when depends on how often you can reload. If you're home all the time, it doesn't really matter.

It also depends on the size.of the stove.
A big firebox allows for less frequent reloads, and overnight fires with soft wood.

A small firebox may need harder woods to get overnight. But harder woods generally leave more coals, which may limit how much you can reload at the time you want to get more heat.

So, what stove do you have?

If none of the above is an issue then I'd say it doesn't matter.

You're doing great with dry wood!

 

[LostGarn]

I have a GARN WHS-1500 boiler. It's a batch boiler with 1,420 ish gallons of storage.

I work from my shop where the boiler lives. If it's above freezing I do my best to only pack the fire box (17 Cu Ft) once every morning. Once it drops into freezing I end up doing a second burn before going to the house.

I'm still new to this...
I have done a lot more reading...
I'm not happy with the temp rise I'm getting from each burn. My first 2 year I would add about 25% hard wood compressed logs into each firing as I did not have a large amount of dry wood. I'm just missing the extra BTU's from not using the compressed logs. I need to add the hard wood slabs as thee temp drops.

 

[stoveliker]

Okay. I don't know enough about boilers. I think what matters is indeed how many BTUs you can get in the box. At that point I would put more in winter as you need more, and use the lower BTU fuel for the shoulder seasons.

Boiler experts may have more useful advice.

 

[LostGarn]

I found some more info on the GARN boiler last night and I think I have a better idea of what is going on and gave me a something to think about and to play with.

 

[Simonkenton]

Pine and poplar are mediocre at best. Ash is pretty good, I like it. Ditch that crappy wood and acquire some oak instead.

 

[LostGarn]

Yes your right and I'm starting to see I should not be buying any more soft wood.

 

[stoveliker]

It does dry faster, so it can be a good solution for when people try to get two years ahead on wood. But if you need more BTUs, then oak and locust may be better indeed.

 

[LostGarn]

Will oak dry in 3 year if I cut 16" sticks with 5" rounds and 5" being the thickest part of a spilt?

 

[stoveliker]

If it is split yes. If drying off the ground and top covered.

Preferably with the prevailing wind blowing thru the stacks and seeing afternoon sun. At least, it does so here on Long island which can be humid.

 

[LostGarn]

Thanks

 

[kennyp2339]

Is there a heat exchanger? and when was the last time that was scraped clean?

 

[LostGarn]

The flue make a few laps in the 1,400 gallon water tank. I cleaned the flue tubes, blower fan, and checked all the seals on the flue 2 months ago. I think I'm under a cord of wood burnt so. I will check them this week.

I do have a bunch of ugly maple I will cut in the spring. From what I read it is not worth cutting any more of the poplars I have on the farm and might be better off as wood chips.

 

[Caw]

The flue make a few laps in the 1,400 gallon water tank. I cleaned the flue tubes, blower fan, and checked all the seals on the flue 2 months ago. I think I'm under a cord of wood burnt so. I will check them this week.

I do have a bunch of ugly maple I will cut in the spring. From what I read it is not worth cutting any more of the poplars I have on the farm and might be better off as wood chips.

Poplar is fine shoulder season wood but that's about it. I'd take it if it's free and low effort like a blow down or log length drop off. I wouldn't be specifically cutting trees down to harvest it though. Not worth it.

 

[BillBurns]

I heard from a friend the other day....Pine Is Fine, Oak Is A Joke, lol...needless to say he doesnt burn wood for heat!